


chewbacca

by evotter



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, but this fic is already a monster, i hope u enjoy it all the same, kind of a coffee shop au but not really i guess, not as much marauder mischief as i like to include in fics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-12
Updated: 2019-01-12
Packaged: 2019-10-08 17:20:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17390486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evotter/pseuds/evotter
Summary: in which Lily finds a cat.





	chewbacca

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lilevans](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilevans/gifts).



> i wish i could tell you how long this dumb thing has been sitting in my documents unfinished until like, a few days ago when i finally got home from an internship and suddenly could not stop writing
> 
> i don't know how this got away from me so quickly but here it is, in all its inconsistencies and (likely) typos. james and lily are just too influential on me. what can i say? i love them too much.

 A girl in a bright yellow hooded raincoat stumbles into the cafe on one of the slowest nights James has ever seen. Her coat is dripping all over the floor he’d _just_ cleaned (but it’s fine) and when he leans over the counter he sees that her boots match the coat.

“Uh,” he says, “hello.”

She lowers her hood to reveal damp, short hair, cut to her shoulders. Even soaking wet, it’s still bright red. The brightest James has ever seen. She blinks at him with shiny green eyes and says, “Hiya.”

“Can I—help you?”

“Yes.” she says. He notices that her arms are curled around herself, like she’s holding something. “Do you have milk I could borrow?”

James’s eyebrows furrow. “You want to...borrow milk?”

“Well, _have_ , I suppose.” she reasons. “I can’t really borrow it if I’m not giving it back.”

“Can I ask why?”

“Because I need it.”

“Well, that’s obvious.” She looks like sunshine, standing there with the amount of yellow in her wardrobe. Briefly, James wonders if that’s her favorite color. It’s got to be. “I meant—”

A meow makes him go silent.

Sunshine girl’s eyes widen to the size of dinner plates. Her arms tighten.

“What,” says James slowly, “was that?”

“Nothing.” she’s quick to respond, glancing down at her arms for a split second. “How much do I owe you? For a cup?”

Another meow. She clears her throat in what must have been an attempt to cover it up, but James hears it anyway. “Uh,” he says. “Do you have a cat in your coat?”

“No.”

James’s eyebrows shoot up. “Say it again, but convincingly this time.”

“Listen, _James_ ,” she says, squinting at the tiny nametag on his apron. “I’ve got, like, a fiver left in my wallet. That’s probably way too much for just a cup of milk, but I’ll leave it if you stop asking questions. Curiosity killed the cat, you know.”

He can’t help the smile that grows on his face. “Interesting choice of words, there, uh—what’s your name?”

She gives him a look. “Lily. And It’s a figure of speech.”

“Okay, _Lily_.” James lifts a cup. “I’ll give you a cup of milk when you admit what you’re holding in your arms.”

Lily stares at him. Then, very slowly, she drops her arms. “See?” she says. “No cat. Sometimes I just like to cross my arms.”

“Uh huh,” says James. “I feel like you do that a lot.”

Then her pocket shifts and a tiny head pokes out of the pouch.

Lily says, “Oh, bugger.”

It’s James’s turn to stare. It’s a kitten—a tiny, wet kitten, with flattened ears and wide eyes. It mews very softly and sticks a paw out of the pocket and James _swears_ his heart melts right there in his chest.

“One cup of milk,” he says. He fills it from the dispenser and slides it across the counter.

“Thank you.” Lily looks relieved. She steps forward, carefully putting her hand down by her pocket. James must still be staring, because Lily watches him carefully, and then after a moment, she says, “What?”

James clears his throat. “Your cat is cute.”

“He’s not _my_ cat.” she says instantly.

“Then...whose cat is it?”

“I don’t know. No one’s.”

James looks around the shop. Thunder rattles the building overhead. “So, not your cat. No one’s cat. So how did you find him?”

“I was walking back from the library.” she says, reaching for the cup carefully. “Right when it started pouring. And I just...I dunno, I thought I heard something. So I ducked down by one of the bins on the street and saw this little guy pressed against it. And—he looked so helpless, and tiny, and he was shaking, and I—I couldn’t help it. So I picked him up and put him in my pocket, and...and this place was on my way home, and—you know, I don’t really know if he can drink human milk? Like, I don’t think it’s good for him, but the vet’s closed for the night and I don’t want him to not eat anything—”

“Cat food,” says James, interrupting her rambling. She blinks at him. “I know he’s a baby, but you could always just try to feed him some standard cat food.”

“I could,” she says quietly. “You’re right.” Lily looks down at the cat in her pocket. “I still have to take him to the vet, though. First thing tomorrow.”

“I can recommend a place.” James offers. “Here, let me just—” he breaks off and snatches a piece of paper, scribbling down the name of the vet’s office. “There. That’s the address, name, number. Everything.”

“Do you have a pet, then?” Lily takes it from his outstretched hand.

“I do. A cat. And he’s the bloody devil.”

She smiles slightly. “What’s his name?”

“Algernon.” James answers. He taps his fingers against the counter. This is the longest he’s stood still since he started working. It’s actually a miracle. “And I’m certain he hates me.”

Lily’s smile widens fractionally. She looks down at the kitten in her pocket and bites her lip. “I guess I’ll have to give him a name,” she says, like an afterthought. “After I smuggle him home.”

“Smuggle him?” James echoes.

“My sister is allergic to cats.” she says. “But my dad is—” Lily clears her throat. “Was. Allergic to dogs, so. I never had a pet as a child.”

“No?” he runs his hand through his hair. The slip-up doesn’t go unnoticed, but he’s not going to comment on it. He would never. “Not even a pity fish?”

“Not even a pity fish.” Lily agrees sadly.

James leans against the counter. “Your sister’s allergic,” he says. “So if you bring the cat home, won’t she just find out?”

“Probably,” she says, shrugging nonchalantly. “But at this point, I don’t care.”

“Or,” he says, and his heart beats a little faster when he does, “you could give the cat to me.”

“Hey.” Lily frowns at him. Almost pouts. It’s very cute. “He’s my cat. I found him.”

“Oh, I know.” James holds his hands up. “But I can use Algernon’s toys and food and stuff so you don’t have to spend the extra money, and no one in my house is allergic.”

“Bringing a cat in a house when my sister’s allergic is part of the fun, though.”

“I’m guessing you don’t have the best relationship with your sister?”

“In as little words as possible,” she says, “yes. That’s a fair guess.”

James doesn’t have any siblings, but he’s got a Sirius, so he supposes he can understand where Lily’s coming from. Kind of. He’s got a great relationship with Sirius. Partners in management. He’s honestly surprised they haven’t gotten fired yet. Then again, he supposes it’s because his dad is his boss.

Lily adds, “I understand your logic, James, but I found him and I want to keep him. I’ll keep him in my pocket if I have to.”

“That’s fair,” he says, and he means it. “Eventually you’ll have to move the cat from the house, though, if you take him there. If your sister finds out. Will your mum make you?”

“Without a doubt.” Lily bites her lip. The kitten has disappeared from view in her pocket, but James can see him shuffling around. “So maybe you have a point.”

He can’t believe this is the kind of conversation he’s having with a stranger. He also doesn’t think the cafe technically allows pets, but since his dad owns the place James is sure he wouldn’t really mind.

“Here’s a thought.” James says. Lily pulls her teeth back from her lip. “You keep him until you can’t, and then I’ll take him. We can swap numbers. And if I ever get him, you can come over and visit whenever you’d like.”

“I feel like you’re just saying this because you want to see me again.” Lily muses after a moment.

“That’s a bold assumption.” James retorts. “But not entirely false. You’ve got your phone?”

Lily does. She hands it to him. He types _James Potter_ and his phone number into the new contact screen and, because he’s bored, adds a selfie for a contact photo. Then he texts himself, just so he has her number.

“It’s Evans,” she says, as he reaches for his own phone. “Lily Evans.”

“Evans,” James repeats, as he types her full name into the contact space. “Smile, Evans.”

She does, and the contact photo he has for her is of her smiling in a yellow raincoat with boots to match. “Okay,” Lily says. She reaches for the milk. “I’ll give him some of this and stop at the market before I get home.”

“And you’ll text me.” James says, before he can stop himself.

“Maybe.” Lily looks amused. “When I think of a name for him, I’ll consider it.”

“If I give you free coffee, will you text me?”

“Are you that desperate?” He’s rewarded with a full-blown grin that reminds him of sunlight. “I’m trying to quit coffee, so I’ll pass.”

“You say that like it’s an addiction.”

“Oh, believe me.” she snaps a lid onto the cup. “It is.”

James smiles.

Lily’s about to leave but then she pauses, turning back to face him. “Hey—how much?”

James blinks. “For what?”

“For the milk.” she waves the cup.

“Oh.” he waves a hand. “Take it.”

“Oh.” Lily says. She looks a little surprised, and then she smiles again. “Thanks.”

“Of course.” James mirrors her smile. He’s honestly surprised that no one has entered the cafe since Lily, but it’s still pouring outside, and he’s really not complaining that he’s just spent the last ten minutes with this extremely interesting girl.

Lily turns, nudges her pocket a little, and then pushes the door open, out into the rainy weather. Her yellow silhouette walks away until he can’t see her anymore and James is left in his empty cafe, a wet floor, and a sudden feeling that his new favorite color might be green.

\---

**[text from: lily evans] his name is chewie.**

_[text to: lily evans] chewie?_

**[text from: lily evans] yes** **  
****[text from: lily evans] like chewbacca** **  
** **[text from: lily evans] from star wars**

_[text to: lily evans] what made you choose chewie?_

**[text from: lily evans] hes cute** **  
****[text from: lily evans] and brown** **  
** **[text from: lily evans] and he meowed and it sounded like a wookie roar so his name is chewie and hes honestly the best cat ive ever had**

 _[text to: lily evans] he’s the only cat you’ve ever had_ _  
_ _[text to: lily evans] did you feed him?_

 **[text from: lily evans] still the best** **  
****[text from: lily evans] ye!!!! didnt rly touch the milk but the food he ate** **  
** **[text from: lily evans] hes sleeping rn on my chest and im in love**

 _[text to: lily evans] cat cuddles are the best_ _  
_ _[text to: lily evans] algernon only scratches me nowadays_

 **[text from: lily evans] ouch** **  
** **[text from: lily evans] not looking forward to that**

 _[text to: lily evans] nah, i trust chewie_ _  
_ _[text to: lily evans] i doubt he’ll scratch you for at a year, at least_

**[text from: lily evans] wanna bet?**

_[text to: lily evans] you’re on_

**[text from: lily evans] that means you’ll have to keep in touch with me for at least a year**

_[text to: lily evans] as if i wasn’t already planning on doing so_

**[text from: lily evans] well, aren’t you smooth**

_[text to: lily evans] it’s my specialty_

\---

The next time Lily Evans enters the cafe, it’s a bright and sunny day outside. She comes in wearing a green sweater.

“Hey, Potter,” she says, waving with one hand. They’ve only texted since their last encounter (and it’s been pretty much non-stop texting, to be honest), but somehow she’s taken to calling him by his last name. James doesn’t really mind.

“All right, Evans?” James greets, looking up from the espresso machine to wave back. “How’s your cat?”

“Still tiny, but getting better.” she tucks her hair behind her ear and looks around. The cafe’s empty, save for Frank Longbottom, who is huddled in the corner, working on another paper for one of his classes and listening to some kind of music through large, over-the-ear headphones. “Does anyone else work here, or is it just you?”

“Everyone else is off at the moment.” he responds, throwing the towel into the bucket of sanitizer. “Except Moony, but he’s on break. Why?” James gives her a look, which she raises her chin to in response. “Don’t like being alone with me?”

“We’re not alone.” Lily pointedly looks at Frank Longbottom. “What kind of nickname is Moony?”

“Long story.” James says, because it is. And it’s one he’s sworn to secrecy on. “You’ll meet him in about half an hour, if you stick around.”

“What makes you think I’ll be here that long?”

“Well, something made you decide to come see me again.” James grins at her. She only rolls her eyes. He gestures behind him. “Do you want something to drink? Or eat?”

Lily gives him a look. “I already told you I’m trying to quit drinking coffee.”

“Well, I have tea.”

“It’s really a caffeine addiction.”

“Hot chocolate?” he suggests, and his stomach does a little flip when her eyes light up. “Ah, we have a winner.” So he fixes her a hot chocolate and throws in a pastry just to be nice and sets it on the counter.

Lily stands up from the chair and reaches into her bag to pull out her wallet, but James holds up his hand. “Don’t bother,” he says. “It’s on the house.”

She looks skeptical, but she takes the items from the counter and returns to her chair. “Won’t your boss get angry that you keep giving away stuff?”

“Nah.” James shrugs. He leans on the counter and runs a hand through his hair. “I do it all the time.”

“Wow, and you still work here?”

“Sure.” he grins again. “My dad owns the place.”

Lily looks a little surprised. Maybe less surprised than James was hoping. “Employee of the month every month, then?” she says teasingly.

James laughs a little. “You’d think, but somehow it always ends up going to everyone except for me.”

The smile on her face is as bright as the sun. “Wonder why,” Lily says, still smiling. Then she stands, holding both the pastry and her hot chocolate in one hand. “Listen, I would love to stay, but I’ve got to be home in an hour for some stupid dinner party, and I only popped in to say hi before I finish up my errands.”

“Oh, sure.” James stands up. Some part of him is a little disappointed that she won’t be around to meet Remus and the rest of him doesn’t know why he feels that way. “Have fun with your errands. Say hi to Chewie for me.”

“Will do.” Lily waves with her free hand and tucks her hair back again. “Thank you, for the hot chocolate.”

“Any time.” And he means it.

She pushes the door open to the cafe. “I’ll text you,” she says, looking at him over her shoulder, and as the door closes behind her, James finds himself smiling a little more than usual.

\---

He gets a call later than night, just as he’s locking up the cafe for the night. His phone buzzes in his pocket, playing some generic ringtone. He picks it up as he pulls the keys out of the lock and puts them in his pocket. “James.”

“Hey, Potter.” It’s Lily. James immediately straightens up, even though she’s nowhere near him. “Any chance you’re still near the cafe?”

“Just leaving.” he reaches toward his keys. “Why? What’s up?”

“I’ll give you my address,” she says. It’s at this moment that James realizes she sounds kind of odd, or upset, or something. Not as bright as she usually is. “Can you come pick Chewie up for me?”

James blinks. “Oh,” he says. “Uh, sure, of course.”

“It should only be about a five minute drive.” There’s a little bit of scrambling on Lily’s end. “Okay, um, I’ll text it to you.”

“Okay.” he says. She hangs up the phone, and Lily sends him her location.

\---

Lily is sitting on the doorstep of her home with a backpack at her feet and a tiny blanket in her arms. As the lights of James’s car pass over her form, she squints, covering her eyes for a moment, and then she stands up, grabbing the backpack and slinging it over her shoulder.

He leans over and pushes the passenger door open. “Hey,” he says. “I’m here to pick up a cat?”

Relief flashes over her face. “You got here quicker than I thought you would.”

“I may have gone past the speed limit for a little bit.”

Lily quirks an eyebrow.

“Most of the time,” he admits. “Okay, you got me. All of the time. How long have you been sitting out here?”

She lifts a shoulder in a halfhearted shrug. “Twenty minutes?”

James stares at her. She’d called him ten minutes ago. And maybe he’s a bit more sensitive to colder weather than others, but it’s pretty cold out. Lily just shrugs again and, to his surprise, gets in the passenger seat of his car.

“You’re not a cat.” he says.

“Astute observation, Potter.” Lily retorts, closing the door behind her. The blanket in her arms is purring.

James takes a moment to look at her as she fastens her seatbelt. She looks exhausted. Not just sleep-deprived, but physically worn out, like she’s just been in an argument. He’s pretty sure she’s just come out of an argument. Why else would she have called him to pick up her cat?

Why would she have called him first, of all people?

“Are you going to drive?” Lily is staring right back at him. He feels the tips of his ears grow warm. “Or are we going to sit in my driveway all night?”

“Right.” James clears his throat and looks away. He’s pretty sure he knows the way back to his house from here, even though the idea of taking Lily back to his parents’ place (and Sirius, if he’s home) kind of terrifies him. “I’m going to drive.”

Lily taps her fingers on her thighs. Chewie smuggles his way out of the blanket and curls up on Lily’s lap, so she taps her fingers along his small body instead. Immediately her shoulders relax. He realizes, then, just how attached she’s gotten to this kitten within the first week.

It’s...kind of cute, actually. It’s very cute.

She takes her free hand and turns up the song on the radio, just a little bit. Probably her sign that she doesn’t want to talk. Lily leans her head against the window and James keeps driving, drumming his fingers along the steering wheel.

\---

The living room lights are still on when James pulls into the driveway.

Lily sits up straight in her seat and Chewie crawls his way up her arm to curl up on her shoulder. “Is this your place?”

“Yeah, I know,” he says, glancing at her as he pulls his key out of the ignition. “Big as my ego, isn’t it?”

“I wouldn’t say that.” she muses, climbing out of his car. She slings her backpack over her cat-free shoulder. “It’s really pretty.”

“Thanks.” James looks up at it. “It’s been in my family for generations.”

“Ah, so you’re one of _those_ families, huh?”

“See, now you’re judging me.”

“Just a little.” Lily smiles at him, waiting for him to walk ahead of her to follow him to the door. “Chewie’s not judging you, though. In case you were wondering.”

“Oh, good. As long as your cat likes me.”

“Who said anything about me not liking you?”

James hardly has time to react, because he pushes the door open at the exact moment Lily says it. And then his mum happens to be standing in the foyer.

“Oh, good!” Euphemia Potter’s expression lights up when she sees her son. She has that same expression (mostly) every time she looks at him. It kind of makes James’ heart melt. “I thought I saw your lights through the window. Your father’s about to go to bed; I was hoping you’d be home to say goodnight to him before he heads upstairs.”

“Oh, sure.” James kicks his boots off. “Sorry, I forgot what time it was. I got a little carried away.”

His mother’s eyes go from him to Lily, who is standing at his shoulder (quite literally, as the top of her head barely reaches the top of his shoulder).

(Has she always been that short?)

(Why is he suddenly noticing every small detail about her?)

“This is Lily.” James says, gesturing to her. Lily waves helpfully. “Lily, this is my mum.”

“You didn’t mention anything about bringing a girl over!” Euphemia says, giving her son a look as she extends her hand to Lily. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“She’s not— _Mum_ ,” James mutters, ears hot. “She’s just—”

“I asked James to catsit for me.” Lily says, before James can presumably make a bigger fool out of himself. She lifts the shoulder with Chewie on it and the brown cat waves his tiny tail in response.

“I see.” Euphemia muses, looking from Lily to the cat to James. “Well, Jem, go say goodnight to your father. I’ll get out of your hair. It was nice meeting you,” she adds to Lily, with a quick wink, and then she heads down the hallway towards her study.

“Make yourself at home.” James tells Lily, who has a lot of emotions plastered on her face. “I’ll be right back.”

He takes quick steps to the living room, where his father is sitting in his recliner and the television playing the news on a low volume. As usual, Fleamont Potter is half-asleep anyway, glasses askew and mouth open. The harsh light from the lamp above his head makes his hair look more white than its dark grey color.

“Dad,” James says softly, nudging his father’s knee.

Fleamont blinks sleepily. “Jem,” he says, in the voice that makes James feel like he’s six again. “How was work?”

“Oh, fine. Not too busy.” James cracks a smile. “Haven’t burned the shop down yet, in case you were hoping.”

“Good.” he claps his son’s shoulder and uses it as a balance point as he stands up. “Though I know if it does burn down, it’ll probably be because of Sirius.”

“Don’t let him hear you say that.” James warns, steadying Fleamont by his elbow. “You’ll dent his ego.”

“Might do him some good, eh?” his dad touches his face gently. “Well, I’m off to bed.”

“Yeah, Mum mentioned.” he smiles a little wider. “Goodnight, Dad. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Fleamont smiles the smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. It’s the one he usually wears these days. He pats his son’s cheek twice. “Goodnight, son,” he says, and slowly leaves the living room. James watches him all the way up the staircase, and then lets out a breath he doesn’t realize he’s been holding.

Lily is still waiting in the foyer, Chewie now blinking in her arms. She’s still wearing her coat, but she’s kicked her shoes off, revealing mismatched socks. “So,” she says, eyes twinkling. “Living with your parents, huh?”

“You live with your mum.” James points out, shoving his hands into his pockets.

“I’m apartment hunting.” she says defensively.

“Well, I’m not.” he leads her down the hallway, toward the staircase in the living room. James reaches over to turn off his father’s lamp and the television before taking the first step up the stairs. “You met my mum. You didn’t meet my dad, but...well, he’s older than she is. And not that they can’t take care of themselves, but…”

“You feel better being around.” she supplies.

James swallows and runs his hand through his hair. “Yeah,” he says. “Well, Mum loves to take care of the house and everything. They’re both retired, so they don’t work, other than Dad owning the cafe, but I usually manage most of it and Mum helps when the financials when I need it. It’s just his name on all the paperwork. The only people who work there are me and my friends, so…”

He looks back at her and realizes maybe he’s just rambling at this point. Lily’s eyes are on the pictures on the wall, but once James stops talking, she looks up to meet his eyes. “I get it,” she says. “When I say apartment hunting, I mainly meant for my sister. So she can get the hell out of the house.” she lets out a sigh that wrinkles her nose a bit. “She wants to move in with her whale of a boyfriend but she refuses to live with his parents, so she’s pretty much making him find them an apartment. And Mum would never admit it, but I think she wants Petunia to move out too, so she’s roped me into helping them find an apartment. So.”

James thinks back to the first night they met, when she’d spoken about her own father. “So you don’t have plans to move out?”

“Nah,” she says, shaking her head just a bit. “Don’t want to leave Mum on her own. She’d say she’s fine, but…”

“You feel better being around.” James says, using her words from a few minutes before.

Lily meets his eyes and smiles as they reach the top of the staircase. “Yeah,” she echoes. “I do.”

James runs his hand through his hair again. He heads down the hallway, ignoring the way the floor creaks underneath his socks, and he gestures to the door in front of them. “Well,” he says, “welcome to my humble abode.”

LIly steps in first and James closes the door behind her. He’s suddenly glad his mother had made him clean his room the night before. Algernon is in the room, surprisingly, curled up in his bed in the corner. He lifts his head as soon as Lily steps in, probably because of Chewie.

“Is that Algernon?” Lily asks, turning to James.

“Yep. The bastard.” James says, turning his head to the cat in question. “Don’t get too close. He’s moody.”

“He’s cute.”

“You’re feeding him lies.”

Lily kneels beside Algernon and extends her hand to scratch his head. James watches, in amazement, as his stupid cat lets her scratch him just between the ears. “Unbelievable,” James says, as Lily grins a little bit. “Why does everything seem to like you?”

“I’m just special like that.” Lily says. Is she gloating?

Then Algernon raises his paw and Lily snatches her arm back, scowling. Chewie scrambles up to her shoulder again. It’s not funny, really, but James can’t help but laugh. “Never mind. Good to know my cat’s just an asshole to everyone.”

“Man, you weren’t kidding.” Lily stands back up and takes a step away from Algernon, who preoccupies himself with licking his paws casually.

“It’ll heal pretty fast.” James assures her.

“I don’t want Chewie in the same room as him.”

“Chewie’s a cat. Algernon won’t scratch him.” he smiles a little. Lily gives him a look, so he holds up his hands. “Fine, fine. I’ll put Algernon in Sirius’s room.”

“Sirius?” she raises an eyebrow. “Your brother?”

“Closest thing to.” James corrects. “Best friend. He works at the cafe, sometimes. When he actually manages to shows up.”

“And he lives with you?”

“We’ve all got our family problems, Evans.” he sits on the edge of his bed and ruffles his hair a little bit.

“Don’t I know it.” To his surprise, Lily sits next to him, rubbing small circles on Chewie’s back.

James looks at her. “So,” he says, “any idea how long I’ll be watching your cat?”

“Indefinitely, I think.” Lily makes a face. “Or at least until Petunia finds her own apartment. Mum doesn’t mind him much, so I think I’ll be able to bring him home once my sister’s gone.”

“How bad was it?” he asks, before he can help himself. “Her finding out?”

“Bad.” Lily admits, with an exhale that deflates her shoulders. “And despite everything, Mum always sides with her in the end, so. That’s why I called you.”

“And not that I’m not flattered.” James says, reaching up to run his finger along Chewie’s tail. “Because I am, but...you could have called anybody else.”

“I could have.” she agrees. “But I opened my phone and there you were. And any of my friends could have been helpful, sure, but I knew I’d have to hand Chewie off to someone else for a while and I trust you.”

Chewie is blinking at James with round eyes. Lily is looking down at her socks. His cheeks suddenly feel very warm.

“Well, he’s in good hands here.” James says, and his voice sounds a little strange to his own ears. He stands up from his bed and extends a hand to her. “Come on, I’ll give you a house tour.”

\---

 _[text to: lily evans] see look_ _  
_ _[text to: lily evans] he’s very comfy in his temporary home_

 **[text from: lily evans] omg he’s the cutest** **  
** **[text from: lily evans] thank u so much again**

 _[text to: lily evans] anytime_ _  
_ _[text to: lily evans] you get home safe?_

 **[text from: lily evans] yeah. funny, i didn’t realize how close u lived to dorcas** **  
****[text from: lily evans] mum was a bit upset that i’d left but who cares at this point lol** **  
** **[text from: lily evans] all petunia did was give me a nasty look when i passed the living room**

_[text to: lily evans] so things are normal then?_

**[text from: lily evans] yeah** **  
** **[text from: lily evans] things are normal**

\---

“James, we’re behind four orders, what the fuck are you doing?”

James looks up. Sirius, of all people, is staring at him with his eyebrows raised as he holds three coffee cups in his hands. Remus is somewhere behind him, at the register, while Peter is helping him with pastry orders. James is supposed to be helping.

James is on his phone.

“Sorry. Just—sorry.” James pockets his phone and grabs the cup half-full of espresso in front of him. It’s Monday morning; of course they’re going to be busy. Then again, Lily’s in one of her many lectures and is bored out of her mind and James has taken about twenty pictures of Chewie that he has yet to send to her. “Only four orders, mate, it’s not that bad.”

“Why am I the responsible one in this scenario?” Sirius mutters, shaking his head as he sets the cups in a to-go carrier.

“Because your phone’s flat.” Remus offers between taking orders.

“Because _someone_ stole my charger.” Sirius corrects, glaring in Peter’s general direction.

“I didn’t steal your charger!” Peter protests, holding three croissants in one hand as he opens a bag to put them in. “I _swore_ it was mine.”

“Yeah, well, you haven’t given it back yet, have you? So you stole it.” Sirius slides the drinks and the bag of croissants across the counter to the woman with her arms crossed. “There you go. Thanks for your patience, have a great day.”

“Try to sound a little more enthusiastic, yeah?” James snaps the lid onto one of the cups and sets a straw next to it.

“Stop texting during work and maybe I will.”

“I already put my phone away!”

“Does this have anything to do with Lily Evans?” Remus says, leaning away from the register momentarily.

James freezes.

Sirius rounds on him. “Evans?” he echoes, raising an eyebrow. “Why do I know that name?”

“She’s the one who works at the retail store on campus.” Peter points out. “Remember? You tried to flirt with her and she said, ‘Get fucked.’”

James cracks a smile.

“Red hair? Short?” Sirius looks a little put out. “You’re talking to Evans?”

“I’m cat sitting for her.” he says.

“Is _that_ why you threw Algernon’s shit in my room?”

“Oh, so you _have_ been home in the past week?”

“Long enough to complain about his stupid charger.” Peter mutters.

“I am going to kill you, Peter.” Sirius says loudly.

“Do it off the clock, would you?” James says tiredly. He manages to hand out a couple more orders before he realizes that Sirius is staring at him. “What?”

“How long have you been talking to Evans?” he demands. “Since when? And why don’t you tell me these things?”

“We’re not... _talking_.” James says defensively. “We’re just talking.”

“What’s the difference?”

“It means James is interested in her,” says Remus, handing a customer their change.  “But Lily probably has no interest in him.”

“Probably true.” Peter agrees.

James rolls his eyes. “We’re just _friends_ ,” he says. Unhelpfully, his phone buzzes three times in his pocket. “She came in one night because she found a stray cat. I gave her a cup of milk. Her sister is allergic to cats, so she asked me to house Chewie until her sister moves out.”

“Chewie?” Sirius echoes.

“Like Chewbacca, from Star Wars.” Remus supplies.

“I know who Chewbacca is and what he’s from, thanks,” Sirius mutters. “Is she the one who keeps texting you non-stop?”

“Maybe.” James says. His phone buzzes in his pocket again.

“Then you’re not just _friends_.”

James runs a hand through his hair. He can see the end of the cafe line now, because it’s no longer out the building. Peter has stopped frantically bringing muffins from the back to the front display and Remus actually puts on a smile for the next customer he greets.

So while he’s waiting for the espresso beans to grind, he pulls out his phone.

 **[text from: lily evans] this class suuuuucks** **  
****[text from: lily evans] how bad would it be if i dropped out rn** **  
****[text from: lily evans] professor binns is quite possibly the most boring professor i’ve ever had** **  
** **[text from: lily evans] hey send me another picture of my cat i’m experiencing separation anxiety**

James smiles to himself. He sends her a video of Chewie climbing on Algernon’s cat tree and pockets his phone again just as the espresso finishes pouring into the coffee cup.

“Ridiculous.” Sirius mutters. James hears it, and maybe it’s true, but he continues working like he didn’t hear and finds that Lily has him several texts full of heart emojis when he looks at his phone next.

\---

Lily visits a few times a week and sits on the floor in James’s bedroom with Chewie in her lap. This happens for about a month. Chewie grows a little bit; after all, Lily had found him almost two months ago and he’s eating enough to get a bit bigger. He usually perches himself in the space where Lily’s ankles cross each other and lets his tail rest on her lower leg. For the most part, all James and Lily do is sit and talk. Sometimes James throws a movie on his laptop and sets it on his dresser, and they sit together on his bed with Chewie curled up between them.

“What a situation this has become,” says Lily, looking down at Chewie as he kneads James’s comforter. “I feel like we have, like, joint custody over him or something.”

“I feel like this is straight out of a movie, or something.” James agrees, scratching Chewie between the ears.

“He’s not even really my cat anymore,” she muses.

James jokes, “Our cat,” and then suddenly realizes she’s not actually joking. “Shit, Lil—”

“No, I’m okay,” Lily says, holding her hands up before James can move. “I am. I didn’t mean for this to get emotional like this.”

“It sucks.” James runs his hand through his hair. “It really does. But it’s better than not keeping him at all, right? And this—this whole thing is only temporary.”

He hopes she knows that he means Chewie’s living situation, and not the two of them.

“I know.” Lily puts her face in her hands. “I know, you’re right. I just...my dad loved cats, you know? But we could never get one, because Petunia was allergic. And we never got a dog, because Dad never really liked them. So when I found Chewie, I felt like…”

“Like it was meant to be.” James supplies. “Like a sign.”

“Yeah, exactly like that.” she puts her arms around her knees. “I think that’s what set Petunia off, when she found out about Chewie. Mum’s always been on Petunia’s side, and Dad was _always_ on mine. So allergy aside, I think cats in general remind her of Dad, and...I mean, it’s hard for all of us, still.

“That’s why I picked the name Chewie, too,” Lily adds, resting her chin on her knees. “I mean, the first thing I thought of when I looked at him was Chewbacca. But _Star Wars_ was kinda my thing with Dad, too. So...yeah, this cat means a lot to me. And it kind of sucks that I can’t have him with me in the house because of my stupid sister.”

“I know how you feel.” James promises. “I talk a lot of shit on Algernon, but I’ve had him for pretty much my entire life. I don’t know how he’s lived this long, but it’s a miracle. I always wanted a brother or a sister, but...I mean, it took Mum and Dad years to just have me, and I think they settled with me.”

“‘Settled’,” Lily echoes, shaking her head at him. “You’re more than that.”

James makes a noncommittal noise. “They got me Algernon when I was, like, ten.” he continues. “And he really was the best cat. He still is. He scratches me a lot, but I think he just knows how much he can get away with around me. I pawn him off on Sirius a lot, ‘cause it seems like he likes Sirius more than he likes me, but...when I need him, he’s there, y’know?”

“Thank God you’re a cat person.” Lily says, reaching up to fix his hair. He doesn’t even have to look in a mirror to know that it doesn’t help the mop on his head, but it feels nice all the same. She cracks a smile. “I don’t know what I would have done if you preferred dogs.”

And in that moment, with that smile on her face and her hand in his hair, James just…

He surges forward and kisses her.

Lily’s response is immediate; her hand tightens in his hair, and she kisses him back. He reaches forward and puts his hand on the side of her jaw, and James could stay in this moment forever until—

Until Lily’s hands are on his chest and she pushes him back.

James blinks. “Sorry,” he breathes. But that feeling that’s been stirring whenever he thinks about Lily is not sorry.

“We can’t.” Lily inhales. “I can’t. I don’t—”

His heart sinks. Maybe he’d been reading this all wrong. “What do you mean?”

“I have to go.” she slides off his bed. “I’ll, um, I’ll text you.”

Something tells him that she won’t. “I’m sorry,” he starts, because he doesn’t really know what else to say. “Lily—”

But she shuts the door, leaving him sitting on his bed, speechless, with her (their?) cat meowing at the door.

\---

“So you kissed her—”

“Yeah.”

“—and she kissed you back—”

“Uh huh.”

“—and then she left?”

“Yep.”

“Are you _serious_?”

“No,” says James, “you are.”

“Git.” Sirius watches as Algernon and Chewie chase each other on the cat tree and then turns to stare at James with a dumbfounded expression. “I don’t get it.”

“I don’t either, to be honest.” he admits. His phone lies on the bed between them, with about seven texts sent to Lily in the past week. No response to any of them. His heart sinks a little lower each time. “I shouldn’t have kissed her.”

“Probably not,” he agrees.

“You’re supposed to be helping me here.”

“Listen.” Sirius says, as James fervently runs his hands through his hair. “Shit happens, right? She’s probably just trying to figure her own stuff out. Give her a couple days. She won’t stay away forever. After all, you’ve got her cat.”

 _Our cat_ , James wants to say, but somehow he doesn’t have the heart for it.

“Remus would call you an idiot.” Sirius says as an afterthought.

“Yeah, I’m aware. S’why I got Peter to take my shift today.”

“Solid.” he muses. “But also, fuck you for not telling me for a week.” But Sirius says it with a grin, so James knows he’s not _really_ mad.

All he wants to do is know how he can fix it. He misses sitting on his bedroom floor as Chewie pouces between him and Lily. He misses watching movies and listening to her commentaries. He misses that one time when she dozed off on his shoulder and he’d never felt as much peace as he had in that moment.

In the meantime, at least he’s got Sirius. And Chewie. And Algernon, even if the orange bastard seemed to be glaring at him from across the room.

He’s about to respond to Sirius with some half-assed apology when his phone rings.

He makes a mad dash for it and doesn’t even check the caller ID. “Hello?” he asks, and Sirius snickers at him for seeming so desperate.

“Hi, sweetheart.” It’s his mum. Any disappointment immediately dissolves into a flash of fear, because his mother only uses her cell phone in emergencies and even then she typically only texts.

“Mum.” he says, and even Sirius frowns because it’s got to be important if his mother is calling. “What’s up?”

“Please don’t be too upset.” she says. Her voice is a little unsteady. “Your father and I were at the grocer’s and he said he was experiencing chest pains—”

“ _What?!_ ” James shoots to his feet. His heart feels like it's not beating.

“He’s okay, honey, he’s just having a little trouble breathing—”

“That’s not _okay_ —”

“We’re in the back of an ambulance now, on our way to the hospital, but the paramedic really says he’s not suffering a heart attack or anything—”

“I’m on my way.” James shoots up. “So is Sirius.”

“James—”

“We’ll be there in ten.” he hangs up before his mother can protest any further and bolts down the stairs. “My dad’s in the fucking hospital.”

“Shit.” Sirius says, hot on his heels. He yanks his shoes on. “Is he okay?”

“Chest pain, trouble breathing. Mum says it’s not a heart attack.” James sprints around the main level. “Where the hell are my trainers?”

“Check the back.” Sirius offers.

James pushes open the back door and finds his shoes just on the other side of it. He yanks them on and grabs his keys, trying to remember how to breathe for a minute. He knew, he _knew_ this had to happen at some point, and even if it’s not a life or death situation, it’s still scary, and suddenly he feels like a five year old version of himself when he visited his uncle in the hospital and went to his funeral two weeks later.

“I’ll drive.” Sirius says, snatching the keys from James’s hands. Somehow, he seems a little more put-together than James does. Granted, it’s not _his_ dad in the hospital, but it’s damn near. Sirius has been living with them for five years and has hung around this house for ten. Either way, whatever is going on in Sirius’s head, James needs the stability.

He misses Lily. He does. But he doesn’t text her again.

\---

Euphemia Potter is waiting for them when James and Sirius rush into the hospital. The smell of antiseptic immediately hits his nose, and James recoils, only slightly, because he remembers just how much he hates hospitals in general without having a reason to be in one.

“Mum.” James breathes, and captures his mother in a hug. “Where’s Dad? Is he okay? Is he—”

“They just put him in a room.” Euphemia brushes his hair back from his forehead. “Checking his vitals, making sure any discomfort he’s having isn’t a warning sign of anything more serious.”

He lets out a breath. Suddenly, it feels easier to breathe. “Thank God,” he says. “Mum—”

“I know, sweetheart.” she says, bringing a hand up to cup the back of his head. He holds her a little tighter. “But your dad really is going to pull through. I think I overreacted, just a little.”

“There is no overreacting when it comes to this shit.” James says seriously. “Are you _sure_ he’s okay?”

“Would I ever lie to you?” his mother demands, and the answer is _No, no she wouldn’t._

James exhales again and pulls back, dropping a kiss onto his mother’s head. “Well, we’ll be waiting here until we can see Dad.”

“Oh, we can see him now,” she says, and James’s eyebrows furrow. “I was just waiting out here for you so you could get out your initial panicking out of your father’s eyesight. You know he hates feeling coddled.”

Sirius just laughs.

Euphemia leads her son down the hall to one of the first hospital rooms on the corner. His dad’s in there, with an IV in his hand and a nurse at his side, but James’s heart doesn’t clench as much as it did the last time they were standing in a room like this. “I found our troublemaker,” she announces, joining Fleamont on his other side.

“Oh, good,” says Fleamont. He smiles, a real smile, one that makes the skin around his eyes crinkle, and he lifts his other hand to grasp James’s. “Didn’t break any speeding laws on the way here, did you?”

“I would never break the law.” James says, to which his father snorts. “But also, Sirius drove.”

“And I definitely would have gotten pulled over if there was a policeman around,” says Sirius, and he sounds oddly proud about it.

\---

“Yes, Mum,” says James, as he closes the front door behind him. “Just top left drawer. I’ll throw your clothes in a bag and be right back to the hospital. Do you want any snacks or something?”

“Your father’s already complaining about hospital food,” says his mother over the phone. If James concentrates, he can hear his father grumbling in the background. Classic. “So a bit of food would be a good idea.”

“Okay, cool.” he throws his keys on the counter. “I’ll just—”

He freezes. He’d left the back door open.

“James?” his mother sounds a bit concerned. “What is it?”

“I—nothing,” he says. “I just left the back door open on accident.”

“Oh.” Euphemia sounds a bit relieved. “Good thing Algernon’s too lazy to climb down the staircase, eh?”

“Yeah, good thing,” James says, closing the back door slowly. Algernon, sure, but—

Shit.

He climbs the staircase. Just like he’d suspected, Algernon is stretched on his bed, lounging in the sunset rays shining through James’s curtains. But Chewie is—

“Not in my room.” James mutters. “Shit. _Shit_.”

“What? What, James?”

“Chewie’s not in my room. I didn’t close my bedroom door.”

“Oh, honey.” Euphemia says in a hushed voice.

“I know, I know.”

“Maybe he’s somewhere downstairs?”

So James checks. He flips over couch cushions. Even checks under the fridge. Under his bed. In his closet. In the backyard, stomping over plants and using his phone flashlight just in case Chewie blends in with the mud. He searches for what feels like eternity, while his mum stays on the phone, and when he returns into the house, Sirius is there, waiting for him in the living room now instead of the car, because James was only supposed to be five minutes in and out.

“Tell me you didn’t,” says Sirius, because somehow he can immediately tell what James has done just from looking at James’s stricken expression.

“Fuck,” James says in response.

“Jem, honey, your father says to not worry about the bag.” Euphemia says from James’s pocket. He pulls his phone out and puts it to his ear, turning the speaker off. “Find Lily’s cat.”

“What? No, you guys need your stuff, I’ll do that first and then I can—”

There’s some grumbling on his mum’s end, and then it’s Fleamont on the phone instead. “Jem,” he says sternly, making James fall silent. “You find that girl’s cat, you hear me?”

“Your bag—”

“Get Sirius to bring it over.” Fleamont says. James glances at his best friend. “Lily will never forgive you if you’ve permanently lost her cat.”

He wishes he could tell them that she’s not even talking to him at the moment.

“You’ve finally found a good girl, James, and your mother and I are quite hoping you two will get your shit together in the near future.”

“Dad, what—”

“So find her cat and kiss her or I might actually have a heart attack.”

He hears his mum laugh in the background. “Not funny, Dad,” James grumbles, even though it kind of is.

“I will see you tomorrow, after you’ve found Lily’s cat.” Fleamont tells him. “And professed your love for each other.”

“You two are too invested in this.” James retorts. “It’s kind of creepy.”

“It keeps us young.” Fleamont corrects. “Tell Sirius to hurry over with my food. Oh, uh, and your mum’s clothes.”

“Will do.”

His father hangs up.

“Well?” Sirius says, looking up from his game of Candy Crush.

“Can you run the bag to the hospital?” James runs his hand through his hair. “I’ve got to try and find Chewie.”

“Yeah, ‘course.” he stands up. “I’ll take my bike.”

“Isn’t it supposed to rain?”

“What, like you’re going to search for that fucking cat on foot?”

He’s got a point.

“I’ll be fine.” Sirius says. “I’ll go grab your mum’s stuff. And food for your dad.”

“You really are the best.” James says, and they’re not sentimental often, but he means it.

Sirius grins. “I know,” he says, and disappears up the stairs, leaving James to start his search.

\---

He searches up and down the block before it starts raining. He’s got his umbrella, but soon it begins raining hard enough that he can’t see, and once it gets dark, it’s nearly impossible. He doesn’t know how long it’s been since Chewie left the house, so he could really be anywhere at this point. He’s got half a mind to run to the library to print signs and then—

 _Shit_. He’s still got to tell Lily.

Chewie has been missing for two hours (to James’s knowledge) and he still hasn’t texted Lily.

He can’t even imagine how she’ll feel. He feels pretty damn awful, because it’s his fault, and Chewie is half his. If he’d lost Algernon like that…

Lily is going to kill him. This is it. He kissed her and she ran away and he lost her cat and she’s never going to speak to him again.

James climbs into his car and puts his key in the ignition. As the wipers furiously move from side to side, he pulls his phone out, his thumbs shaking very lightly as he pulls up their messages and starts to type.

 _[text to: lily evans] i’m sorry_  
_[text to: lily evans] i’m so fucking sorry_ _  
[text to lily evans] but i left the back door open on accident and i think chewie got out and i searched for as long as i could but i couldn’t find him and please meet me at the cafe because i need you and i’m sorry_

\---

Lily’s face is soaking wet from the rain outside but even James can tell the difference between the raindrops and the tears on her face. She stays on the front carpet, water dripping from the yellow raincoat he first met her in, and for a moment, he tries to pretend like this is the first time they’ve met, like they haven’t been through what they have together, like everything is okay.

“I got your texts.” she says hoarsely.

James doesn’t know whether to feel relieved or even worse at what’s happened. “Thank God.”

“Chewie’s missing.”

“Yeah.”

Lily is breathing hard, like she’s sprinted all the way here. Maybe she did. “Shit, James, what happened?”

“I don’t know.” he runs his hands through his hair. “I—it’s a long story.”

“You _lost_ my _cat_ , James.”

“Let’s be honest, Lily, he’s really our cat at this point—”

“How could you do that?” she asks, and her voice cracks. He snaps his mouth shut. “How—how could you have done that? How _careless_ —”

“Don’t you say that to me.” he says before he can help himself. Really, she knows nothing. It’s her fault she knows nothing. “You don’t know what I’ve been through before this happened.”

“Really?” Lily puts her hands on her hips. “And whose fault is that?”

James gapes at her.

“You kissed me.” Lily continues, a bit accusatory. “You kissed me without _any warning_ and then you lost my fucking _cat_ —”

James can feel his heart rate increasing. “Lily,” he warns.

“—and I was terrified of letting myself fall for someone, especially you, even though that’s _dumb_ but I was finally coming to terms with my feelings and then I get this _text_ from you—”

“Lily.” James says, louder this time.

“—that you’ve lost my cat and then I realize maybe this really isn’t something we should be doing, James—”

“Lily, stop it.” James interrupts, for the third time, and Lily finally snaps her mouth shut. His heart is thudding against his chest and he can feel it all over. He has to grip the counter to steady himself.

“James,” Lily says. She sounds hopeless. Her arms fall to her sides.

“No— _God_ , Lily,” he says hoarsely. His heart hurts. His head hurts. He’s so tired, so _fucking_ tired, and she doesn’t know a damn thing about him right now. The words fall from his mouth before he can really process that he’s saying them. “I need you to stop. Please. This is the worst time for you to _finally_ be doing something about this.”

The only sound keeping them from absolute silence is the steady pour of rain on the roof. James rakes his hands through his hair and lets out a half-groan, half-sigh. He wonders if Lily’s heart is pounding as badly as his. This is stupid. God, this is _so_ stupid. It’s way past close and he should be with his mother at the house or trying to find the fucking _cat_ he lost but instead he’s standing across from this girl he’s head over heels for, trying to find out how she feels about him. Not that he wouldn’t love to know the answer, but this is the _worst_ time for her to be doing this.

There’s a pause.

“Fuck this,” Lily says, and the way she says it makes his heart fall into his stomach. She takes a step back. “ _Fucking_ hell, I—I need to get out there.”

He pushes his glasses up. “Evans,” he says, very softly.

“No, I—” she wraps her jacket around herself. How simple it used to be when she was standing in the doorway, in the pouring rain, hiding a kitten in her arms. “I should go. I need to go. My cat—is bloody _missing_ and—”

“Our cat.” James interrupts, before he can stop himself. Lily gapes at him with her mouth hanging open and _God_ would he love to kiss her again. He can never really stay mad at her, can he? “Come on, Evans. At this point, he’s our cat. We have, like, joint custody or some shit. And like hell you’re going out there alone.”

She finally closes her mouth. “Our cat,” she says carefully, like she’s testing the waters. “Is missing. And we shouldn’t talk about anything else right now.”

\---

“My dad’s in the hospital,” James says, as he turns on the wipers as fast as they can go. The cafe is officially closed, lights off, doors locked, and miles behind them. He wishes he could have left all of his problems back there.

Over the harsh rain he can hear her sharp inhale. “Jem,” she says. “You—”

“I didn’t tell you because I didn’t think you wanted to hear from me.” His knuckles are white on the steering wheel. “He’s fine. They’re discharging him tomorrow, I think. He was complaining about chest pains, and Mum just...kind of freaked, because he’s getting old, but...”

“You should just drop me off somewhere.” Lily says, turning to look at him. “And go to the hospital.”

“Visiting hours are over.” James replies, glancing at her briefly. “And Dad’s the one who told me to stop hovering over him, anyway. He’s stronger than he looks.”

“Could have gotten Sirius to do it.”

“Sirius had to take a bag to the hospital.” A bag _he_ was supposed to take, had he not lost a damn cat.

“I’m not more important than your father, James.”

“It’s not a competition, Lily.” James retorts, and realizes that he really sounds as tired as he feels. “Listen, when it happened...I was at home, Mum and Dad were out at the grocer’s, and she called me. It scared the _shit_ out of me. And I was so frantic and I just had to _get to the hospital_ and that’s why I left the back door open on accident and I didn’t shut my bedroom door so Chewie _must have_ left that way and I—I was so careless, but I—”

“Hey.” Lily takes a deep breath and tucks her hair back. “It’s okay.”

“I lost your _cat_ , it’s not—”

“ _Our_ cat.” she corrects, with a ghost of a smile on her face. “And you had worse things to worry about.”

He really did.

“I’m sorry I yelled at you about it.” she says quietly.

“Nah, don’t be.” James shakes his head. “If someone lost my cat I’d be pissed. Well, maybe not. Algernon doesn’t really seem to like me, anyway.”

Lily is silent for a moment. Then she says, “You really should go be with your father. I can finish searching myself.”

“I already told you, visiting hours are over.” James says dismissively. “Besides, he really is only there for a few more tests. He pretty much told me to find Chewie before visiting him again.”

She cracks a smile. “Really?”

“I got back, to put together a bag for Mum and Dad, when I noticed the door. I was on the phone with Mum...Dad was not too pleased, to say the least.”

“What, your dad’s taken a liking to Chewie?”

“It was more the fact that Chewie is your cat.” James told her honestly. He felt his cheeks heat up. “Mum and Dad are...er, kind of very keen on us getting together.”

“Oh,” she says, in a strangled tone.

He doesn’t look at Lily. He’s too mortified, really. “Yep,” he says. “So, um, yeah.”

“Wow.” Lily clears her throat. “Didn’t realize your parents were so...actively involved.”

“They say it keeps them young.”

“That I can believe.”

James smiles a little.

“Listen, Jem, about what I said in the cafe, uh…” Lily shifts so she’s looking out the window. “About us maybe not working out, I—didn’t mean it.”

“I shouldn’t have just kissed you like that.” James shakes his head. “I should have asked. Or talked to you about it first.”

“I didn’t mind the kiss itself.” she assures him. “I just...had a lot to sort out because of it.”

“Not my greatest moment.”

“I needed to get my head out of my ass.”

James shrugs. He slows down to stop at a light and says, “Listen, Lil. If you don’t want to be with me, that’s fine. We can just be friends. Or, once we find Chewie, you never have to speak to me again, if you don’t want.”

Lily doesn’t answer. For a moment, James thinks it’s because she’s considering the last option. But then he looks at her, and she’s staring at her phone screen with wide eyes. “It’s Chewie,” she says. “Mum just texted. He’s at her house. He’s at my mum’s!”

The light goes green and James chucks a U-turn and floors it in the direction of Lily’s home.

\---

“I opened the door to make sure I’d shut the mailbox and there he was,” says Ruth Evans, setting two cups of tea in front of James and Lily. “Just staring up at me. I don’t know how long he’d been out there.”

“I can’t believe he came all the way here.” Lily sniffs, keeping a hand on Chewie’s back. She’s crying, again, but this time from happiness. James squeezes her shoulder as Chewie purrs loudly.

“He’s a smart cat.” Ruth says, a little fondly.

“I think he misses living here,” says James, before he can stop himself.

Ruth looks from her daughter to him. This is, funnily enough, the first time they’ve met, James realizes. “He must,” she agrees. “So it’s a damn good thing that Petunia and Vernon have found an apartment.”

\---

They end up back at James’s home, just as the storm dies down, to bring Chewie back. James makes sure the back door is locked and deadbolted before he does anything else, and then they head up to his bedroom, where Lily sets Chewie down and lets him pounce immediately on Algernon’s cat tree.

“Only a few more days then, huh?” James says, sitting on his bed.

Lily sits beside him. “Probably a couple weeks. Petunia has to be completely moved out first or she’ll have a fit.”

“Is that so bad?” he teases.

She smiles slightly and knocks her shoulder into his. “Thank you,” she says, folding her hands together in her lap. “For watching him. For helping me out with all of this.”

“Of course, Lil.” James says softly, turning to look at her. “You don’t have to thank me.”

“No, I do.”

“I did this because I wanted to. You didn’t even really ask me. I was the one who offered.”

“You just did that so you could try and see me again.”

“Well,” he muses, lifting his hand to brush her hair away from her face. “I think it worked.”

Lily’s smile widens. “Yeah, I think it did.”

Chewie meows from the cat tree and blinks at the two of them with wide eyes.

James starts, “I really am I sorry—” just as Lily says, “James, I want to—”

“Sorry.” James says, again, and wonders how many times he’s said that word tonight. He runs his hand through his hair. “You go first.”

Lily takes a deep breath. “I want to apologize,” she says. “For ignoring you for a week, for being irrational, for running away from something really good.”

“I don’t blame you.” James admits. “I don’t really know what I’m doing, either. I shouldn’t have kissed you out of the blue like that. I just...assumed you felt the same way about me.”

“But I did. I do.” Lily shifts so she’s facing him. “I just panic under pressure.”

He smiles. This time, his hand lingers on her face, brushing his thumb lightly across her cheek. “I’ve noticed,” he says. “It’s kind of cute.”

Lily rolls her eyes. “You are absolutely gone, aren’t you?”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

“It’s not.” she says, and her voice softens. “Because I am, too.”

James grins, and this time, it’s Lily who kisses him first, as the storm ends outside and as the cat that started it all plays in the corner.

\---

“Thank _God_ ,” says Euphemia proudly, nudging Fleamont in the side when James tugs Lily into his dad’s hospital room the next morning. “Look, honey, they finally got their shit together.”

James nearly chokes on his spit. “Mum!”

“Good.” Fleamont says, grinning at the pair of them. “They’re discharging me in a couple of hours. Would you like to come over for dinner?”

“Would you like to come over forever?” Euphemia offers.

“ _Mum!_ ” James says hotly.

Lily’s face is bright red. “Oh, no,” she says. “I—I couldn’t, it’s your first night back with your family—”

“And you’re family now.” Fleamont interrupts. “So it’s decided. You’ll come for dinner.”

“I’ll—” says Lily, looking at James. He shrugs helplessly. “Come for dinner,” she finishes, with the classic smile as bright as the sun.

“Perfect.” Euphemia says. She squeezes Fleamont’s shoulder. “You don’t have to stay here until we leave. We can meet you at home.”

“No, I want to be here.” James protests. “For Dad.”

“You’re making me feel old.” Fleamont grumbles.

“Can’t have that.” James says with an overdramatic gasp, placing one hand on his chest. “If you really insist, we can head home and tidy up a bit, or something.”

“You’ve changed him already!” Euphemia accuses. “James Potter, offering to _tidy up_?”

“What can I say? Love really changes you.” James says, throwing his arm around Lily’s shoulders. She rolls her eyes, but she smiles, and leans further into his side.

Euphemia smiles too, but looks at Fleamont rather than at her son. “Yes,” she says. “It really does.”

\---

A girl in a bright yellow hooded raincoat stumbles into the cafe on one of the slowest nights James has ever seen. She lowers the hood and delivers a smile that could part the cloudy night sky. “How’s business?”

“Oh, we’re packed.” James says, smiling right back. “I can barely talk right now, we’re so busy.”

“Shame,” says Lily, crossing to the counter. James places his palms over hers. “I was hoping to give my favorite boyfriend a kiss.”

“I’m your only boyfriend,” James says.

She lifts a hand and knocks his glasses askew in the process of attempting to flatten his hair out. “Are you sure about that?”

“You two are disgusting,” says Sirius, from the open door of the office, feet propped up on the desk.

“Get fucked, Sirius,” says Lily, and James laughs into her mouth as she presses her lips to his.  


**Author's Note:**

> plz validate me about my favorite couple


End file.
